Introducing: Fallen State ahead of tour with 3 Doors Down

The Fallen State was raised in the Autumn of 2013 and, fresh from successful gigs with the likes of Black Stone Cherry, Halestorm and Trapt, they’re only heading in one direction. The five-piece of Ben Stenning (vocals), Jon Price and Dan Oke (guitars), Rich Walker (drums) and Greg Butler (bass), has a great brand of infectious rock that is guaranteed to have you hungry for more.

You Want It – taken from this year’s Crown Your Shadows EP – gives you a great flavour of their sound, opening up with a huge drum introduction, and chocked full of big, loud choruses, fast-paced heavy guitar riffs and a high pitched flowing guitar solo thrown in for good measure. Burn It To The Ground, from EP ‘II’ is equally enjoyable, and you can check out the video below.

We spoke to lead singer Ben this week, and he described a handful of his key musical influences.

“The list is endless, and different for every member of that band, but for me I’ve always loved the attitude of Rage Against the Machine, they’re definitely a huge part of my introduction to rock; Faith No More weren’t afraid to experiment when writing (and it always paid off) and that creativeness is something I also love about writing music; and Slipknot are just the best at what they do, no questions about it.”

It’s clear from listening to the band that they have a huge range of influences, and Ben admits they find inspiration from a range of styles, from hip-hop to Britpop. So we asked him to tell us a bit more about the band.

Ben told us: “We put the band together about 3 years ago; we were basically a bunch of like-minded musicians who liked similar music, had the same work ethic, and wanted to play some cool shows, I don’t think that ideology has changed too much.

“I think what makes us unique from a lot of bands is our intense work ethic -we live to play, and so we aren’t ashamed to say we work hard to make that happen.

A trio of EPs in 2014, cunningly named ‘I’,‘II’ and ‘III,’ has been backed up by the excellent Crown Your Shadows and a series of sold-out shows. That has earned them a place on the road with 3 Doors Down, bringing their hi-octane, groove-ridden, rock n’ roll triumph to a venue near you through November. Check out the video for Sinner below, to get a taste for it yourself.

Ben told us: “As a band our music is really defined by our live shows -the way we write and record songs always has a live audiences interpretation to it in mind, so I’d describe a large portion of our music as anarchic, thumping anthems.”

I then asked Ben about how they go about writing their music, and he said: “This is different for each of us to be honest, but as the lyricist I like to have a vision for what the vibe of the tune is and also what I want to say. For me music is all about conveying moods -and the difference between a good and a great song is how well you achieve to do that.

“I always feel inspired to write when I’m in a bad mood – which probably explains the attitude that is present in a few of our songs! In terms of key themes lyrically, our songs are often a way for me to express the things I wish it was acceptable to say to people in real life – I tend to not tell people that part!

“But in terms of our creative process, have you ever had writer’s block? Writer’s block is horrendous, it’s soul crushing, and it’s relentless. It makes you sick, it makes you livid and it makes you totally mental. You can’t sleep, but you cant bare being awake to sit through it… But every so often something magical hits your ears -a little piece of heaven, and it makes all the gritty stuff totally worth it!”

The Fallen State will be worth checking out in the next few weeks, but they also have a lot more coming our way.

Ben told us: “We have loads coming up – and we’re still in the process of figuring a few bits so I won’t give too much away – but I can say we’ve been really busy the last few months writing new tunes and have just hit the studio with some tracks that we’re really excited to get out! We’ve got some amazing shows on the horizon; including some huge dates with american rockers 3 Doors Down and some headline shows across the UK.”

These are really exciting times for The Fallen State and I love their energetic, riff and guitar solo-fuelled brand of rock, so go and check them out.

More information on their upcoming gigs is available here, and to stay in touch with the band follow them on Facebook and Twitter.